


Of a Kind

by swirlybutt-mcmangocunt (pumpkinqueene)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Creampie, Cunnilingus, Exhibitionism, F/F, Female Ejaculation, Masturbation, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Praise Kink, Slut Shaming, Vaginal Sex, light humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 04:08:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7669519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pumpkinqueene/pseuds/swirlybutt-mcmangocunt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When some incriminating video footage comes to light, Pearl is forced to confront her latent feelings for Jasper</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of a Kind

Homeworld had planned the construction of eighty nine kindergartens in all, but only two had been completed before the tide of the rebellion had swept away their forces. Even the final two had halted production in the end, their mineral bounties to remain virtually untapped as Homeworld limped away in humiliating defeat, and the remnants of the Crystal Gems huddled together to lick their wounds and lament their losses. The first of these, Kindergarten Prime, had been pulverised during the Crystal Gem’s altercation with Peridot half a lifetime ago, but the other one, Kindergarten Beta, showed some promise as far as intelligence extraction was concerned. It was an entire day’s walk from the nearest warp pad, tucked away in the middle of a forbidding desert; so inaccessible, isolated, and inhospitable that Steven had been required to remain behind for this mission. He may have been half-gem, but he was also half-human, and it was unclear whether his comparatively fragile flesh body could endure the heat and dust. Lapis had volunteered to remain with him, Amethyst had been informed that she had to, and faced with the prospect of a day with his Beach Summer Fun Buddy and “The Coolest Crystal Gem”, Steven had perked up marginally.

Truth be told, only Peridot really needed to go, but the threat of unknown gem beasts loomed large. She would need an escort, Garnet had remarked, lips twitching. She may have been wearing those shades, but everyone knew that she was looking at Jasper as she spoke. Nonetheless, they eventually concluded that the dangers were entirely beyond their abilities to assess without the benefit of more information (future vision could only do so much), and it was decided that Peridot would be accompanied by the remaining three Crystal Gems; all seasoned veterans in their turn. Peridot’s relief had been unmistakable.

Garnet and Pearl were perhaps more familiar with corrupted gems, but Jasper’s feeling of kinship with those poor creatures was not to be underestimated. If not for Steven, that would have been her fate. Fighting them always left her solemn and silent in a way not seen before her own brush with corruption. She pitied them, in her way; empathetic to their plight, which she perceived as worse and more dishonourable than death. She was steadfast in her faith that Steven could heal them one day, but never told him so. Even she knew that was a load too weighty for his pudgy little shoulders to bare, Rose Quartz’s progeny or not. 

They had asked her for intelligence on the Kindergarten Beta, but she had merely offered- grudgingly, brusquely, and evasively- that it was like any other kindergarten out there, and she had been pretty happy there among her fellow quartzes. If her tight-lipped response bothered Peridot or Garnet, they didn’t show it. Garnet was Garnet, and Peridot was still just arrogant enough to presume that first hand experiences were irrelevant in the face of the bureaucracy and data sets she hoped to extract from the ancient computers which had once run the kindergarten. Only Pearl had wondered what Jasper wasn’t saying, but she hadn’t bothered to ask. Even in a close-knit group such as theirs, secrets abounded, and she was not about to go digging through Jasper’s substantial closet if it meant that her own would be subject to rummaging in revenge. Besides, everyone deserved to have some memories which were their own.

They didn’t run into any corrupted gems, and the biggest problem they faced was choosing whose turn it was to be Peridot’s pack mule when she grew tired. Jasper expressed a suspicion she was being saddled with more than her fair share of babysitting duty, but this was the extent of her complaints. Peridot’s weight was so slight that she barely felt it anyway, even as Peridot perched on her head like a misbehaving housecat.

Later, Pearl would recall that the databanks and computer systems turned out to be remarkably complete, but she would do so in the detached manner of one who hadn’t actually been there at the time, and was relying on the estimations of other gems. Naturally, of course, she had been there. But the contents of those databanks had been so shockingly titillating that she could barely recall what colour the sand was in that place, let alone how much surveillance footage had survived. She felt as though she had seen everything through a fishbowl, or the distorted perspective of a view through a peephole. In the middle, bright and vivid, was the security footage Peridot had chanced upon, taken over five thousand years ago in corridors which had long since crumbled to dust. The periphery- blurred, warped, indistinct- was everything else.

With her limb enhancers safely returned to her, Peridot was able to plug herself directly into the mainframe and whizz through the databases at a speed which would not have been possible manually. The continuous babble of techno jargon clearly meant nothing to Jasper or Garnet, but Pearl knew she had nodded along, pleased with the results. She could remember nothing of what anyone had said, up until this moment- but afterwards, her memories came into focus, like the sudden crackle of a gramophone as the needle was lowered to its surface. Blurs and shapes righted themselves and burst across her mindscape, as sharp and tart as vinegar- Peridot at the console, data sheeting past her eyes like rain, face slack and fingers pushed into the sandy data ports cresting the main control panel; Garnet, arms folded coolly as she stood in the middle of the room, relaxed as she could ever be, but as vigilant as a sentinel; Jasper, glancing around the room with her hands on her hips, face softened by nostalgia, and it made Pearl’s belly clench and fold in on itself like an unsettled moth. Jasper’s was the most vibrant image of all; strong and bright, in a conflagration of vivid technicolour. She was so striking and full-figured, in a way which had been achingly familiar when she was a stranger, but felt achingly different now that she was familiar. Pearl wanted to sink into her like warm bathwater. It was a thought which had long ago ceased to discomfort her.

Peridot joked about finding Jasper on those tapes. There was no real expectation that she would, of course. There must have been millions of hours of footage on those databases, and to isolate a single quartz out of thousands without any way of pinpointing her would be impossible. Peridot made her quip, Jasper rolled her eyes, Pearl pointed out that the odds were astronomical, and Garnet adjusted her shades; and then Peridot returned to work, sifting through data like a gold prospector panning in a stream. If there was anything useful on here, she was to download it onto her newly-constructed portable hard drive for further perusal back at the barn. Frankly, Pearl didn’t expect Peridot to find anything worthwhile on five thousand year old networks belonging to a defunct kindergarten. Whatever it could tell them would be of no use against Homeworld as it stood now, so wildly advanced that Lapis had shrunk from its coldness like a single krill quailing before a whale. Still, there was no harm in trying. Perhaps they would get lucky. 

Almost immediately, Jasper lost interest and wandered off, and it was silently agreed that she ought to have been left to chase the ghosts of her past in solitude. Pearl itched to follow, but she knew that it wasn’t her place. She wondered why that bothered her so much.

Initially, Peridot had been optimistic about the records, but had written off the security footage as superfluous. What could centuries of images of quartzes strolling through barracks and training yards and corridors possibly tell them about any weaknesses the Diamond’s might possess? What information could these eerily high definition films of long dead quartzes possibly impart that Jasper or Peridot weren’t capable of imparting already? Nonetheless, Peridot rifled through the archives- more out of curiosity than anything- still making glib jokes about catching the young Jasper doing things she ought not to have. And then, quite suddenly, they weren’t jokes anymore.

At first, Peridot seemed excited. She still tended towards tell-tale manic giggles when she was up to mischief (something an exasperated Amethyst had pointed out completely undermined the whole point of mischief- not getting caught), and this was no exception. With a gleeful titter and a full-bodied wriggle, she turned her sightless gaze over her shoulder and grinned around her words.

“Found her!” 

She didn’t await permission before calling the footage up onto the mainframe monitor and disconnecting her hands from the datestream mid-flow. Pearl nearly chastised her for becoming side-tracked, but the sudden blossoming of colour across the screen stopped her in her tracks. There was Jasper, shown in four cameras from four different angles- and she hadn’t changed a jot. But no, that wasn’t quite true. The Jasper on film was painfully young and innocent; wide-eyed, relaxed, humming to herself as she wandered down a long corridor as if she had nowhere pressing to be. This was before the war. Before death, and loss, and betrayal, and the hot burn of crushing defeat, inexorable and inescapable, like the press of a pyroclastic flow. 

“I didn’t think we’d actually find her,” Peridot giggled, almost shaking with excitement, “I hope she does something I can tease her about,”

“Oh really,” Pearl sighed, “Peridot, you really ought to-,”

Another gem had moved onto the screen, and Pearl forgot what she’d wanted to say. This was another quartz (of course she was), a tall, strapping bloodstone with a shock of hair as red as the vermillion blotches criss-crossing her pewter grey form. Unlike Jasper, she had fairly narrow hips and a thick core, as chiselled and hard as chert where Jasper was muscle beneath fat; and unlike Jasper, she walked with a purpose. Her eyes gleamed like those of a cobra.

“Heeeey, Peaches,” she called in a voice as smooth as marble, advancing on Jasper’s turned back, “Where you off to? You’re looking a little lost and lonesome,”

“Peaches?” Peridot asked with a nervous giggle, as if she was uncertain as to whether she should be laughing or not. Pearl, for her part, stood transfixed with burgeoning dread, hand-on-mouth as she clutched at Garnet’s arm with the other one. She didn’t like the look in the bloodstone’s eyes. If she was about to see Jasper bloodied beneath the fists of an arrogant bully, she wasn’t sure she wanted to continue watching this- and yet she remained silent, allowing the tape to keep rolling like the sinister opening of a horror film.

“I’m going to find Jasper,” Pearl distantly heard Garnet announce, “You should turn this off. I don’t think she’d like you to see this,”

They did no such thing. Peridot remained just innocent enough to not realise what she’d stumbled upon, and just unscrupulous enough to hope that the event preserved here would give her leverage over Jasper. Pearl didn’t have the excuse of naivety or frank deviousness.

Had she been less focussed on the bloodstone, she may have noted Jasper’s demeanour sooner. It didn’t much look like it belonged to a gem who was priming herself for combat, and Pearl felt herself unwind incrementally, as though to mirror Jasper’s relaxed, loose arms, and her open posture. 

“I told you not to call me that,” Jasper laughed. It was a sweet sound, rough though her voice was; like dark chocolate, rich and astringent. Pearl swallowed, and found her fist clenched over her heart.

“You need a name,” the bloodstone grinned as she drew level, “Can’t shout “jasper” all over the fucking barracks without ten different gems answering,”

“Mmm, but this name?” Jasper rolled her eyes, leaning back against a wall. Her voice sounded strange all of a sudden, sinking to a husky purr like the sleep-roughened cadence of the morning after. The golden half-moons of her eyes smouldered with a sultry glow, half-hidden behind her heavy lids, as she caught her tongue between her smiling teeth. Oh, Pearl thought; and something roiled in her belly, hot and cold, like frostbite or the burning chill of steel piercing her gut. It hurt and it didn’t, and it was a feeling Pearl hadn’t felt since she’d last walked in on Rose and Greg post-coitus, the sweat still glittering on Rose’s bare breasts. There was no need for her to breathe, but she took a sharp breath anyway.

“Well,” the bloodstone drawled, slinking into Jasper’s space, “The colours match,”

“Is that all?” Jasper smiled, luring her in by the shoulder straps. The bloodstone curled her tongue into her cheek, looking Jasper up and down in a way which was too familiar to be called appraisal. It was more like remembrance, and anticipation, and other things which made Pearl bite her lip painfully as the bloodstone pitched forwards and caught Jasper’s mouth in a fierce kiss. It was a blaze of lips and teeth and tongues, wet and savage and so titillating to Pearl’s starved gaze, but sweetly painful too, like pressing into old bruises; and then the bloodstone veered away from Jasper’s red, red lips, nibbling her beneath the ear, down her throat, sinking into her clavicle as Jasper tilted her head back, her hands roaming over the bloodstone’s muscular back, and her lip bruising between her teeth. Within moments, her shapely breasts were bared, ample and heavy with eager red nipples, and the bloodstone pursed her lips around one, sucking with indulgent little grunts as Jasper’s head slammed into the wall behind her. She was whimpering, such an uncharacteristic sound, but pleasing and pretty to Pearl’s ears all the same; and as a hand pushed between Jasper’s thighs to rub at her plump lips through her uniform, Pearl noticed how dark and wet she was there, seeping into her pants and down her thighs like spilt ink on wet parchment. Pearl choked down a gasp and tried to pretend that watching this wasn’t making her ache in every intimate way. It didn’t work. Her heart, in its metaphorical sense, was shivering in pain like a broken bird, but between her legs, she was damp and throbbing.

It was almost a relief when footsteps approached from the right of the screen, and the bloodstone slipped off Jasper’s puffy nipple with a glower. Perhaps this madness would stop. Perhaps nothing had happened, and nothing ever would, because these images captured a moment from a hundred human lifetimes ago, and whatever was done, was done. Pearl told herself that her Jasper was the Jasper who was here and now, not this shameless strumpet on the monitor, fucked against a wall with the air of one who often engaged in such behaviour. Then she reminded herself that Jasper was not hers- had never been hers- and whatever Jasper chose to do was Jasper’s choice. It stung, but the truth often did. She remembered Rose, wondering what it was about quartzes which made them so desirable and untameable, or if her limited experience with them was leading her to judge their entire caste based on two exceptional gems who had eluded all attempts to conquer them for thousands of years. If trying to keep Rose had been like grasping at clouds, Jasper was a candle flame, hot and perilous to the touch.

“Oi!” a voice called on-screen, echoing off the metallic floors, “Are you two seriously doing this?”

An amethyst moved into view, tall and thickset but eerily familiar nonetheless. Her gem was in her right arm, and she was wearing the diamond insignia, but her base features were Amethyst to a tee- even that sly smirk, which belied the exasperation Pearl had been expecting based on her words. Jasper’s responding grin was positively wicked.

“Aww, you gonna tell on us?” the bloodstone asked, maintaining eye-contact with the newcomer as she thrusted her knee against Jasper’s pussy. Jasper gasped, rolling back against it unashamedly as her breasts hung loose and bruises littered her neck like poppies in a field. Even through cloth, Pearl could see how juicy Jasper’s pussy seemed; such a thick, wet mound which plumped up pleasingly around the pressure like a cushion beneath hands. Pearl had always imagined luscious red folds and fat, golden-orange outer lips, and, oh, her mouth watered, and she thought she might have an inkling as to the source of Jasper’s gauche little nickname. Pearl’s cheeks burned in brilliant periwinkle, but neither she nor anyone else moved to turn off the footage.

“If we have your word you won’t tell, you can join in if you like,” Jasper suggested. 

Pearl knew that they should have killed monitor the moment they had realised what this footage showed. They were gaining nothing but guilt and sexual frustration by continuing to stand there, jaws as loose as those of a gulper eel as they ogled this lewd spectacle. But the amethyst needed no further prompting before plunging into the mix, and any thoughts of aborting this and hoarding the last remnants of respectability any of the two Crystal Gems in that room still possessed was lost as the bloodstone yanked and shoved Jasper back into the amethyst’s chest and pushed into her front. Jasper was crammed between them, breasts flush against the bloodstone’s as the amethyst moved her hair to the side and chomped down on her nape like a bat.

“Oh fuck!” Jasper moaned, barely seeming to notice as her uniform fell around her ankles. She struggled one foot out of it, leaving it dangling from the other leg. There was a stripe on her left side, Pearl noticed with a swallow; but it was difficult to see much from any angle when she was penned in between the other two quartzes like that.

“You hit her from the back, I’ll get the front?” the bloodstone crudely suggested to the amethyst, and Pearl would have been insulted on Jasper’s behalf if Jasper didn’t seem to be enjoying herself so much. Cold dread pooled in Pearl’s belly even as her core heated up. The bloodstone and the amethyst were pulling away and fumbling with their own uniforms now, sliding them down to their thighs to expose classical musculature and thick cocks glistening at their tips. When they returned to their former positions, the bloodstone laid her length along Jasper’s thigh, while the amethyst jammed up against her thick backside. 

“You two seem eager,” Jasper chuckled.

“Says the gem whose cunt’s leaving a fucking lagoon on the floor,” the amethyst cackled, “Can’t wait to get in that tight ass of yours,”

She slapped Jasper on the left buttock, hard enough that red bloomed in her wake. Far from appearing distressed or insulted, Jasper smiled wider, humming with pleasure. Pearl wanted to run away and never look back, and she wanted to stay and watch this right to the end. She didn’t want to see Jasper ever again, and she wanted to run to her now and beg her to touch her the ways she had touched these other quartzes centuries ago. In the end, she did nothing, held in place by furtive arousal and her own cowardice. 

Jasper must have weighed in excess of a thousand pounds, but the bloodstone showed no signs of strain as she hiked Jasper’s thighs up around her hips. Jasper threw her head back with a long groan as the bloodstone hissed praise (“damn, so hot and wet, love your pretty pussy, darling…”) and Pearl realised quite suddenly, with belly-clenching pain and a surge of arousal, that the bloodstone was inside Jasper, filling her in ways Pearl probably never would. Then it got better and worse, as the amethyst coated her fingers in a syrupy, slippery paste and made a quip which was lost to the buzzing in Pearl’s ears. Even as the bloodstone rolled her hips into Jasper (claiming her, fucking her), the amethyst slipped a couple of fingers into the split of Jasper’s cheeks- and their destination could hardly be considered a mystery.

“Yep,” the amethyst confirmed, “Tight as ever,” 

If Pearl could vomit, she would have by now. Jealousy was a terrible thing; her greatest sin, and ultimate downfall, and she wished she could stop feeling like this when Jasper had never belonged to her in the first place. But, at the same time…goodness, it was an enticing sight. Pearl hadn’t been so aroused since Rose, and wasn’t it so bitterly apt that her latest fancy was as capricious and wanton as her first? She gasped when the amethyst sank into Jasper’s ass on the first stroke, and caught Peridot’s wide gaze briefly before they broke apart in mutual shame. The blue flush which lit up Peridot’s face like the noonday sky said it all.

They were utterly engrossed; so engrossed, that the shattering of the screen startled them into embarrassing shrieks of shock and fear. Pearl turned towards the origin of the projectile, and immediately wished she hadn’t.

“I told you to turn it off,” Garnet said, but Pearl only had eyes for Jasper. She stood just behind Garnet, face half-shadowed but unmistakably drawn into a livid countenance- and yet, there were other, unidentifiable emotions there too, glittering in the depths of her narrowed eyes. They brought a lump to Pearl’s throat, especially since Jasper was looking directly at her. 

Peridot was ordered to fit as much onto her hard drive as she could (and to leave the security footage well enough alone), which she did without so much as a mumble of dissent. She knew she had overstepped the mark, and was committed to making it up to Jasper without realising that there are some things which aren’t so easy to fix. Pearl shrunk in on herself, horribly reminded of her previous blunder with Sardonyx. She wondered when she would mess up again. She wondered if, this time, forgiveness wouldn’t be forthcoming.

Jasper did not speak at all during the return journey, a stubborn silence which lasted for the entire day. She followed orders and acknowledged Garnet, but she refused to acknowledge Peridot or Pearl. She was intent on keeping her gaze fixed dead ahead unless Garnet spoke to her. The chilly atmosphere was all too apparent when they returned to the house acting like a band of convicts, and Pearl didn’t have the gall to explain what she’d done when Amethyst and Lapis asked, even if Peridot capitulated fairly quickly under the pressure of relentless questions. Pearl didn’t find out until afterwards, or else she would have forbidden Peridot from breathing a word of what they’d done to anyone. They had humiliated Jasper enough without Peridot squeezing citrus into the wounds.

Jasper pretended to ignore the giggling and sly glances, but eventually, they were too much for her to take. One afternoon, nearly a week after they’d returned from that disastrous mission, Amethyst made the wrong comment at the wrong time, and Jasper put her fist through the door to Greg’s van.

“Fine!” she roared, loud enough to startle nearby seagulls into flight, “Alright! I’m a slut! I’m a fucking slut, and Peridot and Pearl saw me getting fucked by two other quartzes on some five thousand year old video footage! And now that all of you know, none of you will ever respect me again! So now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, can you try to shut the fuck up and let me do my damn job instead of distracting me with your bullshit?”

Had it been any other occasion, Pearl would have clamped her hands over Steven’s fragile ears and admonished Jasper for her vulgarity. Instead, that duty fell to his crimson-faced father, who, even when out of his depth, could always be counted on to do what he could to help. Pearl was simply too pre-occupied by Jasper’s bitterness and the hurt seeping out from behind her hard façade like the tears she refused to shed. Her anger had burnt out, and all that was left was betrayal and mistrust. It was excruciating to witness, but Pearl forced herself not to look away when Jasper looked at her for the first time in days. It was brief, and Jasper turned her head quickly as she stormed off down the beach, but it was enough to squeeze Pearl’s throat like a great fist.

“Man,” Greg said into the silence, “Poor Jasper. That must be humiliating. Do you guys really think less of her because of all of that? Because I have to tell you…I’m surprised at you, if that’s the case,”

“No, we don’t think any less of her,” Garnet confirmed with a sigh, “But she’s right to be upset. I don’t think she knew that those things had been caught on camera, but if she had, she would have probably presumed nobody would watch it. She has a right to her privacy,”

“It was a public venue,” Peridot defended herself half-heartedly, as though she knew she was in the wrong but disliked the feeling enough that she was attempting to convince herself otherwise, “If she didn’t want anyone catching her-,”

“She was young and stupid,” Pearl cut across her, “Everyone does silly things when they’re young. It doesn’t matter. We should have turned it off the moment we realised what we were seeing,”

“Then why didn’t you?” Lapis asked baldly, folding her arms. Her narrow countenance and darkly troubled eyes suggested that she already knew why. She just wanted to hear Pearl admit it. It was difficult to tell whether she was motivated by altruism or petty vengeance, or some other impetus Pearl could not divine. Lapis only looked slight and fragile as paper. She was, in fact, ancient, strong, implacable as a heathen god, and she excelled at emotional manipulation. Pearl tried to keep this in mind as she selected her words and cobbled together a response.

“Come on, slugger,” Greg said, leading Steven away by the elbow. In doing so, he was removing Pearl’s only avenue of escape, but Pearl didn’t begrudge this. A festering wound only worsened overtime, and she didn’t want Steven’s innocence tarnished by this conversation. 

“Oh, it was very complicated at the time,” she sighed once she was certain he was out of earshot, dancing her fingers around each other (as she was wont to do when she was particularly nervous), “I suppose it was a combination of factors. I was shocked at first, naturally. I even thought that bloodstone was going to hurt her, although it soon became clear that this…wasn’t the case at all. For a little while, I couldn’t move, but when I had to, I…I knew I should have turned it off. But…oh, I’m sorry, it was all so…erotic,”

She virtually whispered that last word, simmering in humiliation but willing to admit to herself that what she was feeling could only be a fraction of the embarrassment Jasper must have felt this past week. Besides, she was fairly certain that her attraction to Jasper had already been noted by anyone in possession of a working pair of eyes. She had never been subtle in her ardour, regardless of its current recipient. If Jasper remained oblivious, she was probably the only one who didn’t yet know.

“Yeah, I’ll bet it was,” Amethyst sniggered behind her hand, “Who knew Jasper had it in her?”

“She definitely had something in her,” Lapis said drolly.

“Two somethings, actually,” Peridot corrected, buckling with a squeak as Amethyst leaned on her for support, cackling uproariously. 

“Oh, stop it!” Pearl snapped, her face burning. Her fists trembled at her sides as her chest heaved and her vision narrowed, but she was still ashamedly cognisant of the satisfaction sweeping across Lapis’ and Amethyst’s faces.

“Come on, P,” Amethyst crooned, “Cat’s out of the bag anyway. You know she’d be laughing too if the shoe was on the other foot,”

“I’m not laughing,” Peridot corrected her, “I too found the whole experience…what’s the word? Oh yes…sexy. Of course, it’s impossible not to notice that Jasper has an ass that won’t quit and tiddies as big as ya head-,”

“Amethyst, stop teaching Peridot this crap,” Lapis put in with her customary weary expression, “Even though it’s true,”

“Yes,” Peridot nodded with satisfaction, “As I was saying, Jasper is a perfect specimen, and it seems inevitable that she has become a virtuoso in the art of sexual congress-,”

“I think I preferred it when she was trying to talk like Amethyst,” Lapis sighed.

“You mean, Jasper’s hot and probably amazing in bed ‘cause she’s a ho,” Amethyst summed up breezily.

“There’s no shame in that,” Pearl said; and even though she felt cold whenever she thought about how many gems could have passed between Jasper’s legs over the years, she meant it too. Jasper’s body was hers to do with as she wished- and if she wanted to gift it to a thousand other gems in exchange for the pleasure with which they rewarded her, that was her prerogative. It wasn’t as though Pearl was an untouched lily. She’d had lovers before Rose, too; other pearls, the odd aristocrat, but no quartzes because she’d heard things about how rough and insatiable they could be. Nonetheless, she was sickened by the knowledge that other gems had touched Jasper- had plucked at her aching nipples and pleased her with their mouths. She wondered if Jasper could ever love her the way she’d loved those gems, or if she would find Pearl too small, too slim, too pointy and dainty and simply not enough. That was always the problem, though, wasn’t it? she reflected bitterly. The fear that she would receive affirmation of not being enough.

Amethyst was looking at her with that irritating lofty expression again. Pearl hated it when she did that, because it was a complete reversal of the normal state of play between them. Amethyst was supposed to behave in an amoral, reckless, and juvenile way, and Pearl was supposed to admonish her afterwards. Amethyst was not supposed to regard Pearl with a knowing look, because Pearl was not supposed to mess up anymore. The remembrance that she had, in fact, done so settled in her belly like a stone dropped into a pond.

“Nobody said there was anything wrong with it,” Amethyst said slowly, “But you seem pretty bothered. What’s the problem, P? Thought you liked it,”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Lapis rolled her eyes, “She’s jealous of those quartzes,”

“Pfft,” Amethyst snorted out in a spray of spit, “Seriously? Wow, P. Good luck…if you haven’t, you know, already ruined your chances with her by watching her kinky sex tape,”

After this, there was nothing for Pearl to do but beat a hasty retreat while some dignity yet remained within her grasp. She occupied herself with the menial domestic chores which so reminded her of her place back home, and she wondered what it said about her that there were dark little corners of her mind in which she longed for that comforting simplicity, despite knowing the price she had paid in exchange for having her decisions made for her. Even after that mess with Sardonyx, it was tempting to rest her weight on others and allow them to carry her along. 

Unfortunately, her tactic worked perhaps a little too well. She was so fixated on a crud of grime wedged into the corner of a step when Jasper eventually slipped into the house, that she didn’t notice it had happened. Nor did she have time to adequately gear herself up to recite her prepared apology, leaving her to gibber nonsensically when Jasper’s shadow fell over her while she squatted on the stairs with a box cutter and dust pan in hand.

“Jasper!” Pearl said, hand on top of the heart she didn’t have, “Oh, goodness, you startled-,”

“Does Steven know?” Jasper butted in. Her expression was shuttered, and she was holding herself as tall and strong as a great oak, but she still seemed terribly vulnerable. She enfolded her arms around her middle, glancing furtively about from time to time, as though she was waiting for more judgment and recrimination to be heaped upon her and was preparing herself to push back. She really had been humiliated, hadn’t she? It was silly, but Pearl didn’t think she had quite grasped the extent of it before this moment, so absorbed was she in her own jealousy. She was being selfish again, she knew; because it was Jasper who was the subject of lewd, objectifying jokes, and it was Jasper was trying to act normal while knowing full-well that a youthful indiscretion had come back to haunt her. Pearl was not the victim here, but the perpetrator, and it had been remiss of her to avoid offering an apology back at the kindergarten.

“No, he doesn’t,” Pearl shook her head, wincing at the breathy quality of her voice, “And even if he did know, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Besides, he’s getting older now, and he’ll learn about such matters soon enough. You don’t need to worry about him treating you differently. He’s good,”

“The others judge me,” Jasper said. In the pale grey light washing in from the rain-lashed windows, her usually vibrant colours seemed muted, lending her a wan appearance which wasn’t at all helped by the way she was nibbling her lip, her gaze cast off to one side. She was so big and strong, but under present circumstances, even her hair seemed to wilt. The whole effect was rather sad and pitiful, like a damp cat crawling in from the cold. All of a sudden, Pearl wanted nothing more than to protect her. She bit her tongue against such an impulse, of course. There was no way Jasper would react well to being treated like she was precious and fragile under any circumstances, let alone by Pearl.

“No, no, they’re just fooling around,” Pearl emphasised, keen to dispel any misconceptions, “They even told me they don’t think any less of you. They just…find it a little amusing. They have a strange sense of humour,”

Jasper nodded slowly, watching the raindrops tumble over the glass with all the tragic melancholy of a Jane Austen heroine. 

“Do you…?” She paused, exhaling slowly, and then continued. “Do you think less of me?”

“No,” Pearl said immediately, and she was relieved to find that it was true, “No, never. Of course not. Whatever you did five thousand years ago with a few…friends, that has no bearing on how I view you now,”

“What if it wasn’t the only time?” Jasper countered, “What if I’ve done more, with more gems than that at the same time? Would it bother you then?”

She was looking at Pearl now, her eyes narrow and searching. From the moment she had landed on the beach an age ago, she had proven her understanding of gems; their weaknesses, what made them tick, what they wanted and didn’t want. Her downfall was her inability to factor in her effect on the gems she appraised, as though she couldn’t fathom becoming part of events. She was the variable she never remembered to account for. Thus, she thought herself an outsider, rather than a participant, believing that she was beyond the scope of events- like a chessmaster perched high above the game as she poked her pieces into place. She overestimated her own control over situations, while underestimating how dynamic gems were. A skilled manipulator, in one sense, but an abysmal one in another. Pearl wished she could foresee which one Jasper would be today.

“No,” she answered; and, even as that word lingered in the air between them, she knew she had misstepped.

“Liar,” Jasper snapped in a voice like a distant storm; not angry, per se, but something was certainly building within her. 

“Yes, it does…bother me,” Pearl admitted quickly, “But not for the reasons you think,”

If denials and platitudes were doing her no good, perhaps omitting certain facts would serve her purposes better. She would have preferred a strategy of full-disclosure, having burnt her fingers on the edges of perilous secrets before. She had no wish to wrap her fists around them and blister as she struggled to keep quiet- but, at the same time, she had to think of the group dynamic. The Crystal Gems had functioned as a beautiful, bedraggled whole for thousands of years, and Pearl would not allow her own emotions to break them apart from within- not when she had come so close to doing so once before. So she would say only as much as was necessary and smile past her grimace. It had worked before. It would work again.

She told herself so, but perhaps she ought to have accounted for Jasper’s tenacity.

“Then why?” Jasper demanded, “If you’re not judging me on principle, why does it bother you? Do you wish it had been you between them?”

“Of course not!” Pearl said, dropping her box cutter onto the step as she stood, “I don’t even know them!”

It was a vague, fragmentary response, but it was damning all the same. The sudden light of comprehension which suffused Jasper’s liquid gold eyes was perilous to look upon, lest she quail beneath its glow, so she ducked her head as though avoiding the death-shine of an eclipse and awaited the inevitable hammer-blow of scorn as it fell upon her.

“It’s me you want,” Jasper concluded, quiet and softly surprised, “Because of Rose?”

“No, certainly not!” Pearl protested. She made the mistake of looking up, and froze in the grasp of Jasper’s gaze. Jasper stepped towards her, and still she didn’t move, stock-still and trembling with deep and desperate yearning.

“It’s just me you want?” Jasper asked. She was so tall that she could rest her breasts on the top of Pearl’s head if she so chose, and she came extremely close to doing so when she moved right into Pearl’s immediate space to stare down her nose at her. Pearl thought of that beach again, luridly surreal in acid green light. Jasper had been beautiful even then, loathe though Pearl was to admit it even to herself. It had only taken Pearl a few days to succumb to the memories of Jasper’s nipped in waistline and abundant cleavage, although the ensuing guilt as she’d cleaned herself up afterwards and stashed her toys in a carefully chosen hiding place had been enough to discourage her from indulging again for a little while. It had been hard enough to resist her when she was the enemy, spitting poison and vitriol long before corruption had begun to take her. Now, Pearl had seen the way Jasper’s wet mouth fell open as that bloodstone had praised her pussy, and she’d watched Jasper curl up in a fleece blanket as Steven adorned her hair with a crown of autumn leaves, and she realised that fighting against her attraction for Jasper was akin to swimming against rapids. She had tried, but after a while, she’d had to admit that she was simply incapable of doing so.

“I understand if that makes you uncomfortable,” she said with all the resignation of a convict awaiting sentencing, “But I can promise you that you don’t have to worry about me behaving unprofessionally. I’ve…learned my lesson. Nothing has to change,”

Even as she spoke, she knew that her words rung with falsehood. She ought to have known better than to make a promise she couldn’t keep. Of course everything would change now, regardless of what happened next, because that was what happened when people learned uncomfortable truths about each other. That footage had opened the door, allowing Pearl to drag an elephant into the room, and she realised that it would now plant its feet and refuse all attempts to shift it. They would have to live with it and pretend it wasn’t there, even as it trumpeted into their ears. 

Everybody knew how Pearl felt- had known for a long time, perhaps even longer than she had; but it was one thing for them to know about the quiet spark Pearl carried in her chest, and it was quite another for them to know that Jasper had discerned its light within her, yet had shrunk from its pale glow. They would pity her, she knew; just as they had pitied her when Rose had died, just as Amethyst and Steven had pitied her after Sardonyx, just as they had pitied Jasper when her mind had shattered and corruption had sunk its teeth into her nape. They were terrible at hiding it. In claiming that nothing would change, Pearl was falling back on the all too human defence mechanism of lying to herself- because it certainly wasn’t working on Jasper.

“You’re not making me uncomfortable,” Jasper said with a shake of her head, “And things have already changed. That tends to happen when you learn new things about people. Perspectives shift. Budge over,”

Pearl scuttled down the stairs like a spider, ungainly, nervous limbs and spindly feet and hands. She settled a few steps below, knees to her chest as if she were a small human child. Jasper’s hips were too wide for the steps when she strode straight over Pearl’s head to sit down, but she didn’t seem to mind that she was in danger of pitching over the side. She was so curvy and lovely, beguiling black lashes and arms twice the width of Pearl’s entire waist, and Pearl suddenly felt very small and unremarkable in comparison. 

“You all used to think I was some kind of a monster, and now we’re friends,” Jasper continued, “I never said anything about my previous lovers, and now that you know, you’re going to treat me differently, even if you say you won’t. This is the same. You want to act like I never found out that you have a thing for me? Well, sure, I can do that, but can you?”

Pearl’s silence was an admission by omission. She stared down at her fingers, and willed away her blush.

“Besides,” Jasper said, “Why would I want to forget?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Pearl said after a beat, her breath fluttering in her chest like a kite in a gale. She didn’t want to hope, and she rather despised Jasper just a little bit for giving her hope with that white, lopsided smile.

“Why do you think I’m here talking to you instead of any of the others?” Jasper asked pointedly, “I’ll tell you: it’s because I don’t care about what they think of me- not the same way I care about what you think of me, anyway,”

“I thought I was just a lost defective pearl,” Pearl couldn’t help but snipe. It wasn’t fair to bring that up again, she knew. Jasper had apologised and atoned, and made perfectly clear the respect with which she had come to regard the Crystal Gems- but Pearl needed a weapon with which to defend herself, and this was a barb as good as any.

“You know I don’t think that anymore,” Jasper rolled her eyes, “Look, you know how I do things. I don’t like this…tiptoeing around. I say what I mean. And this is me saying that we could give it a shot, if you want. I mean, you want me, I want you…we could see where it goes,”

She finished with a shrug, as though what she had just proposed didn’t have the potential to shatter their team dynamic like a glass bottle dropped onto asphalt. Her confidence could be admirable at times, yet at this very moment, it was galling that she would presume it was as easy for Pearl as it seemed to be for her. Pearl loved hard, and completely, with everything that she was and could be. Indulging in the company of another for a single night was a perilous undertaking for her. Perhaps Jasper was used to picking up and discarding lovers on a whim, but Pearl could never be so frivolous.

“If we try and fail, we could destroy the Crystal Gems from within-,” Pearl began.

“If the Crystal Gems could survive intergalactic wars and losing Rose Quartz because she decided that she had to bang that human, I’m sure they it could survive us calling this thing off,” Jasper said loudly, cutting her off mid-flow, “Are we professionals or not? Why don’t we try it just once, and if it doesn’t work out, we agree to do our damn jobs instead of letting it get in the way? Deal?”

Goodness, but she was sure of herself. She was so sure that Pearl would accede to her and sink into her and worship her like the others had- and the worst thing was…Pearl was tempted. She shook herself inwardly and remembered her promises she had made years ago, when she’d first taken up her sword and cut her own chains. She would not be used; not by anyone, not for any reason. If that was what Jasper expected- if Jasper expected Pearl to fall at her feet- she would have to find another lover. Pearl hadn’t spent thousands of years mastering her own demons for Jasper to release them again.

“I hope you don’t think I’m going to serve you while you reap the bounty,” Pearl said. Amusement tugged at the corners of Jasper’s lips as she huffed out a noise which could be accredited as laughter if Pearl was the suspicious sort of person.

“That sounds completely boring,” Jasper said, “Is that a thing some gems go for or something?”

“Yes,” Pearl admitted tightly.

“So is bounty a euphemism?” Jasper continued, leaning back against the steps. One of her legs dangled over the side of the stairs, the other crooked up at the knee, her heel resting carelessly on the steps below. She had such wonderfully thick thighs, so beautifully shaped and soft-looking, but capable of crushing a boulder into dust if she so chose to. Upon reflection, getting between those thighs was probably an extremely hazardous undertaking, but Pearl thought she could accept the risk of mortal damage if it meant she could sink into that wet, yielding warmth with fingers, with tongue, with cock. 

Generally, she maintained a neat little pussy, pale on the outside and powder blue around the centre. It had very little plush to it, but she had always found it pleasing to her own eye when she had touched herself upon the mirror-smooth waters of her room, and had admired its glimmering reflection. Rose used to like playing with her there, stroking the soft hair she cropped close for fastidiousness’ sake and drawing the pads of fingers over her tiny clit. But when Pearl was with Rose, she often adopted a cock because nothing had ever felt so good as Rose’s warmth around her. Even now, she could vividly remember her sweet perfumed hair, and the scent of her desire, wet and hot between them; her soft belly against Pearl’s gasping mouth, her gentle fingers carding through Pearl’s hair.

Jasper was not Rose, and Pearl had never thought otherwise. She was not interested in crafting Rose’s replacement from Jasper’s parts like some deranged descendant of Pygmalion, and nor would Jasper tolerate any comparisons between her and Rose which hinted that she was being used as a proxy. Nonetheless, they were alike in small ways; in their defensive gem weapons, the forms of their faces, and (as Pearl was coming to learn) in their thick-lipped pussies. Pearl didn’t mean to measure them against one another, but when she recalled Rose’s pink labia and candyfloss curls, she couldn’t help but wonder how similar or different Jasper’s would be. On that footage, Jasper’s pussy had formed a pleasing mound through her uniform, puffy from desire and much wetter than Rose had ever been- and that was where Pearl stopped her thoughts. She didn’t want to think about that footage. Not now, not ever. Whoever had touched Jasper in the past, they were not here now, and their on-film spectres would never touch her again. She was offering herself to Pearl now- an offer she intended to accept, even though every pore of her being told her that it was a risky move which could result in more than her heart being broken.

“Why would “bounty” be a euphemism?” she asked, pretending as though her irresolute silence had not dragged on for far longer than was strictly comfortable.

“It could have been,” Jasper laughed, “I thought you were referring to your little puss. Or your dick. Whichever flavour you prefer, I guess,”

“And what do you prefer?” Pearl asked, her voice embarrassingly high and scratchy.

“Me?” Jasper smiled, “I’ve never been one for a dick. I always thought they get in the way. A cunt feels more natural for me,”

“I don’t like that word,” Pearl said immediately, and regretted it the moment she saw Jasper’s smile acquire a mean edge.

“Cunt?” Jasper repeated, far too loud, “Vulgar word for a vulgar thing. If you ever get around to fucking it, you’ll see what I mean. Pearls have pussies, but pussies are tiny, demure things. I’m too big for that crap. I’m a sloppy-wet, messy squirter, and you could probably fuck me with your fist if you wanted to. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush so much,”

Pearl was sure she’d never blushed so much before either. Jasper’s words were sordid in every way, and Pearl was appalled that she would refer to herself in such derogatory terms. Pearl had always been of the opinion that all pussies were beautiful and, as such, deserving only of compliments. The mere mention of the word “cunt” in relation to such delicate beauty was, to her mind, an anathema; one she refused to stand for without protest. A part of her wanted to know who had first put these ideas into Jasper’s head, that she should only view that part of her in the crudest and most deprecating manner. Equally, however, Pearl could not ignore the pleasurable tingling skittering down her spine to settle in her groin as Jasper spoke about her pussy so evocatively, so explicitly. If she thought Pearl would be intimidated by how unbridled, nasty, and big she was, she was in for quite the surprise.

“Yes, I’m blushing,” she snapped, folding her hands in her lap to preclude any fidgeting, “I don’t know what the purpose of this little display is, but don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re not…disgusting, and I won’t stand for you thinking otherwise,”

Through willpower alone, she kept her gaze steady and focussed, in spite of her continued embarrassment. Jasper was watching her with a soft, pensive look, as though Pearl had unintentionally said something endearing. She felt as awkward and ungainly as a human child, and she hated it. 

“That’s sweet,” Jasper said, “You’re sweet. I never said I thought I was disgusting though. You’ve got it all wrong. Why would this be my most comfortable form if I didn’t like it?”

“I don’t understand,” Pearl admitted, but her mind still stuck on “you’re sweet” like a fly in a honey trap.

“I’ve really gone native, haven’t I?” Jasper mused, “I completely forget, sometimes, how different the castes are. I’m not ashamed, Pearl. I’m proud. I think that got lost in translation or something. Come here,”

It was a request which sounded like an order. For a second, Pearl’s being instinctively warred with itself, vacillating between defiance and obedience as old instincts battled against new ones. It would be so easy to kneel at her feet and adore her, but it would be just as easy to make her grovel for it. In the end, she came down in the middle ground, cautiously stepping towards Jasper with an adamant frown which she hoped advertised the fact that she was humouring Jasper, but didn’t intend to place herself at her service. Standing like this, in the parting of Jasper’s legs looking down on her, she could almost fool herself into thinking that she would not fall at the first touch.

She flinched when Jasper took her hand, but stumbled forwards willingly on senseless legs to fall heavily on her knees. She bitterly reflected that she had told herself she wouldn’t kneel, and yet here she was, but her thoughts fell to static at the back of her mind as she looked up. For the past few minutes, she had kept her gaze bonded with Jasper’s, unflinching and remorseless in its intensity. She didn’t want Jasper to start to see her as a bashful little doll all over again. However, her little stumble as she was tugged in broke the gossamer line of contact between them, and Pearl’s eyes inevitably slid down Jasper’s body; catching on cleavage, waist, belly, and settling in the crux of her thighs.

“I’ve never fucked a pearl before,” Jasper said, “Quartzes are probably different. So let me know what you like and I’ll give it to you,”

Her hand was warm, but not rough, as Pearl had expected. It was as tough and smooth as beach pebbles, adapted to punching through solid rock and metal without shattering beneath the force. Like all gems, her fingertips were capped in shimmery, mineralised nails- although, unlike most gems, hers were a pretty golden colour, and finished in a bright, mountain-peak manicure Pearl didn’t want anywhere near her genitals. In hindsight, it was perhaps a little obvious that Jasper exclusively bottomed.

Nonetheless, they didn’t seem to form anything resembling an obstacle for Jasper, who stole every mental function Pearl had ever possessed when she drew her middle finger down the seam of her own pants, right over the parting of her pussy. She was already wet, Pearl realised with a jolt, watching the material darken and cling as her juices seeped into it. Her grip on Pearl’s wrist was assured, but her other hand was not idle. She teased herself lightly, scritching the tip of her nail over the protruding bud of her clit, and sketching the pads of her fingers against her folds in a teasing caress before she massaged herself firmly. Her flesh gave beneath her touch, so thick and wet even through her pants that her fingers shone with it, and her yielding lips indented and plumped up around the pressure. Pearl’s mouth watered, ravenous.

If Pearl had thought about it for a while, she would have realised that this was neither the time nor place for a sexual encounter. Up until a few minute ago, it had been broad daylight outside, sunny and mild with a hint of a breeze- although this hardly mattered, since the others had all been planning an excursion into Beach City, for pizza and ice cream. While that would probably serve to keep everyone outside and oblivious to what was happening within the little beach house, it was nevertheless a terrible idea to even contemplate having sex with Jasper on the staircase like this, in plain view of anyone who might step in for a refreshing drink or to change their shirt, or for some other chaste little reason. If Pearl was so irresponsible as to get caught mid-coitus, she was sure she would never hear the end of it from Amethyst.

And yet…and yet she couldn’t find it within herself to decline this opportunity. Jasper was beautiful and willing, and she smelled like autumn bonfires and cloves and something sweet and musky, like bourbon, and before Pearl knew it, she was pulling her arm out of Jasper’s grasp and teetering up onto tiptoes to kiss her. She was a little less graceful than normal, but under present circumstances, she thought she could perhaps be excused. It was soft, wet heat and vast lips, plush and velvet-soft, engulfing Pearl’s thin mouth in shimmering warmth; and it was all so evocative of how it must be to kiss her other lips- to kiss her her pussy- that Pearl almost felt her face steam. Jasper would be much wetter than this down there, she knew, but for a gem who normally abhorred mess of any kind, she had always been remarkably keen on pleasing her lovers with her mouth. Her throat was too slender for cock, but she had become very adept at cunnilingus over the years. She suspected Jasper was very good at both. Maybe, if Pearl made Jasper come with her mouth, Jasper would be persuaded to return the favour? It was a delightful thought which had her shuddering without meaning to.

“What’s wrong?” Jasper mumbled around Pearl’s tongue.

“Nothing!” Pearl jolted her head back as though she had been struck on the nose, effectively undermining her remarks to the contrary. She caught Jasper’s quirked eyebrow and softly amused eyes, and relented.

“Oh, it’s just...,” she said, pausing as she searched for the least perverse way to phrase it, “Well, I suppose, since we’re both being so frank…I was thinking about making love to you with my mouth, and about how much I’d like you to…return the favour. Is that presumptuous?”

“You’re so polite,” Jasper smiled, “And proper. I feel so trashy next to you. No, it’s not presumptuous. But I thought you wanted to fuck me?”

“You’re brazen, not trashy,” Pearl insisted, “And…I suppose we could try that another time, if you’re amenable?”

“The part where you fuck me, or the part where you eat me out and then I return the favour?” Jasper asked, tracing her hand up and down Pearl’s spine. She settled on the imperceptible curve of Pearl’s ass, and gently squeezed with a mischievous spark in her eyes. Her other hand continued to rest against her own groin, lax and distracted but nevertheless hiding the pleasing profile of her pussy from Pearl’s view.

“I’d like to try the former first,” Pearl nodded, her voice strained. Her shorts lay cool and damp against the head of her cock, stretching around its length obscenely. Her enthusiasm couldn’t be doubted, even if her nervousness was only too apparent in her trembling fingers and tense posture. It had been so long.

She surprised even herself when she snaked her hand beneath Jasper’s loose palm to cup her pussy through her sodden pants. Her slender fingers felt unequal to the task, bird-bone light and fragile as a dove’s egg no matter how many swords she swung in her grasp; and she bit her lip as she remembered what Jasper had said about fucking her with her whole fist, about how wet and messy she was. She had called herself a squirter, Pearl recalled. Rose had never been a squirter, and Pearl was thankful that she had found yet another way in which these two quartzes differed. 

Jasper hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest, about Pearl being able to slide her whole hand into her. Suddenly, Pearl’s cock felt very small and insignificant; surely incapable of satisfying a gem who was used to the long, girthy lengths of her fellow quartzes. Pearl wasn’t enough. She was never enough. 

But no. That wasn’t quite right, was it? She had always been enough for Rose, and there was no reason why she wouldn’t be enough for Jasper. Steeling herself, she pushed away her insecurities as if they were merely dogs snapping at her heels, and smiled as beguilingly as she was able, teasing the pad of her thumb over Jasper’s clit through her pants. She was gratified by Jasper’s quiet hum of pleasure, a low sound like the purr of a tiger which seemed to rumble through Jasper’s breast and sink to the base of Pearl’s spine like a warm caress. 

“Would you please take this off?” Pearl asked breathlessly.

“The whole thing?” Jasper asked, “Like, butt naked on the stairs when anyone could walk in and catch us?”

“Yes!” Pearl snapped impatiently, certain she was blushing all the way down her sternum, “How else am I supposed to enter you?”

“I love the way you talk,” Jasper smiled like sated cat, “So…I don’t know, refined. It’s its own brand of kinky I think. I enjoy getting called a whore in the middle of it as much as the next gem-,”

“Jasper!” Pearl squeaked, scandalised beyond measure.

“-But I think being praised in that pretty voice of yours could be a new kind of fun, wouldn’t you say?” Jasper continued, with all the appearance of a gem who was revelling in the novelty of Pearl’s reactions. Presumably, other quartzes were much like her in this regard; crude, rude, and in possession of unmitigated audacity. Pearl must have seemed fussy and prissy in comparison. She was glad Jasper seemed to appreciate this, rather than finding her to be a dull lover.

“Well,” she said, making a valiant effort to steady her voice, “I’m sure I can manage that. I’m quite good at the sort of thing, you know. Rose used to say so all the time,”

Admittedly, that last part was a little piece of petty revenge; an attempt to incite a little jealousy in Jasper, to allow her to feel its numbing bite the way Pearl felt it every time she thought of that footage, and of Jasper’s numerous other lovers. It seemed to work, after a kind; Jasper’s smile slipped off her face as she rose to her feet and began to strip out of her perpetual skin-tight catsuit. She moved in a jerky way, doing a very bad job at disguising her displeasure over being reminded that she was following a very remarkable act. That made two of them, Pearl thought.

Jasper remained standing once nude, as though awaiting Pearl’s approval and admiration before she would deign to lower herself. She was utterly vain, Pearl realised suddenly, affection and amusement intermingling within her. But Jasper wasn’t without cause or justification. She was tall and thick and voluptuous in every aspect, apart from her comparatively little waist, which was a novelty amongst her kind. She had golden eyes and white teeth and spectacular biceps, and half a dozen feet of thick, fierce hair which lent her a wild appearance Pearl found quite alluring. Nonetheless, a part of Pearl wryly ruminated that it would have been nice if Jasper wasn’t so conscious of her physical charms. Words such as “arrogant” and “vapid” came to mind. And then Jasper turned her bright gaze downwards, lowering her eyelashes in a raven flutter, and Pearl felt her breath catch.

“You’re…,” she said, groping around for an adequate compliment, “Lovely,”

Almost in an instant, Jasper’s eyes were huge in her face, and colour misted high on her cheekbones, discernible despite her vermillion stripes. Pearl looked at her in askance, delighted by her blush but perturbed by the fact that a gem who could so easily utter expletives without a hint of shame would react with such abashment when gifted with so simple and innocent a compliment. Had nobody told her she was beautiful before? Or did that transgress one of those silly social taboos back on Homeworld? It was all too easy to imagine quartzes normalising rough, violent sexual displays and crude compliments, but baulking at gentle touches and words. A warrior was tough, and a warrior was not apt to crumple and fold like paper because of things like love and romance. Such harsh lives they must lead. Pearl pitied them, in some ways.

Although Jasper had been cruel and cutting in the beginning, she had never seemed to regard Pearl as a weak little accessory, playing at swordfighting but intended for the service of a greater gem. She had never treated Pearl gently. That may have seemed caustic to an outside perspective but for Pearl, it had been a relief. She had never needed a soft touch, just as she had presumed that Jasper didn’t either. Except…

Except…perhaps Jasper needed exactly that. Perhaps she needed somebody to hold her gently and tell her she had pretty eyes, because she deserved to feel loved, and she deserved to feel wanted for more than the warmth between her thighs and the things she could do with her tongue. Pearl could only offer this. It was Jasper’s choice whether she accepted it.

“Could you lie down for me again please?” Pearl asked, half-expecting Jasper to refuse but pleasantly surprised when she didn’t. There was something a little off-balance about her as she lowered herself onto the stairs, chewing her lip; something endearingly vulnerable. She didn’t look at Pearl, keeping her eyes firmly averted and her fingers curling into the step on either side of her hips. This time, as she let her legs fall open, she did so with bashful hesitance.

“Oh goodness,” Pearl whispered reverently, “Oh my. You really are lovely, aren’t you? And you didn’t lie at all. But it’s good that you get so wet, I think. May I?”

Her hands hovered over Jasper’s pussy, but her eyes hooked into Jasper’s as she awaited approval. Jasper was uncharacteristically quiet, all of her cockiness draining from her like meltwater down a mountainside as she nodded mutely, her thigh muscles clenching with nerves.

“Thank you,” Pearl smiled, finally bringing her palm to rest on Jasper’s pubis. Her fingers still seemed unequal to the challenge of pleasing Jasper, toothpick-thin and translucent as dosinia shells; and yet her former nervousness had dwindled to near nothingness. It was almost as though she gained confidence as Jasper lost hers and vice versa, in some strange, cyclical dance of mutual exchange. She hoped they would gain equilibrium one day.

“I always thought you would feel hard and tough if I ever touched you,” she mused, “Back then, I mean. Before I ever really knew you. But that was wrong, wasn’t it? You’re soft everywhere, especially here. I didn’t expect you to be hairless, but I suppose you have your reasons. At any rate, I’m glad. I don’t want my view interrupted by hair,”

“I like how it feels,” Jasper volunteered, eyes downcast and cheeks blooming in colour, “Against my uniform. It kind of…rubs against me and it feels kind of...good. And I’ve…And that’s why,”

She had intended to say something else but had baulked at the last second, Pearl realised. Reticence was ordinarily such a foreign concept to Jasper that it was quite surprising to watch her exercise it; and Pearl couldn’t deny that seeing Jasper so uncharacteristically blushy and sweet, and knowing that she was responsible, was extremely thrilling. She wanted to- no, needed to know what Jasper wasn’t saying; to push harder, so she could see how far that blush could spread, and whether it might make Jasper’s chest glow red like the belly of a furnace. 

“I don’t think you’re being entirely honest with me, Jasper,” Pearl smiled, resting the tip of a finger just above the parting of Jasper’s folds. The heat was searing from this distance. Jasper lifted her hips in an effort to coax a firmer touch from Pearl, slick gleaming down her buttocks and puddling on the step beneath her, but Pearl deftly danced her finger away with a laugh.

“Well?” she asked as Jasper grumbled in complaint, “What did you start to say?”

“You wouldn’t like it,” Jasper said evasively.

“Oh, you may be surprised,” Pearl smiled, even though she knew there was a chance that Jasper was right, “I’d like you to tell me please. I’m sure you can do that…a big brave soldier such as yourself would never be afraid of a few words, no?”

Jasper was a difficult gem to control, but Pearl had found that the best way to ensure Jasper did what she was supposed to was to appeal to her ego. Her perilous life in a society which simultaneously praised quartzes as the pinnacle of perfection, and sent them out to die in droves upon the battlefield had, left her with a duel appreciation of herself and her abilities. On the one hand, she genuinely believed she was objectively amazing, but on the other hand, any suggestion that she wasn’t could only be met with her aggressive resolve to prove otherwise. This case was no exception to that rule- although Pearl had to admit, this was a very different case from the norm.

“Right,” Jasper nodded, balling her hands into fists, “I…Fuck, I…,”

“Language,” Pearl chastised primly, just for the fun of watching Jasper’s perfect eyebrows furrow.

“I like the way it looks,” Jasper admitted, carefully avoiding Pearl’s eyes, “And…I like it when other gems…tell me they like it,”

“I see,” Pearl smiled, “I thought it was something terrible, considering the way you’re acting. I can understand why you would like that, anyway. It’s nice to be told you’re attractive, isn’t it?”

“It’s not…the same,” Jasper explained haltingly, “I…well, I get off on it. Gems…looking at me there, and kind of…admiring me, I guess?”

“Hm, yes,” Pearl said, her nonchalant words belied by the way her cock twitched in her shorts, “I think I understand. And I can certainly see why other gems would admire you. Such a perfect pussy you have,”

Without warning, she teased her finger down the split of Jasper’s folds, from clitoris to perineum, sampling their velvet touch and molten, wet heat. She didn’t dip in, and her stroke was feather-light, but Jasper groaned from her belly and bent into it with fervent desperation.

“So soft and delicate,” Pearl continued, “And so thick too. Oh, I do like thick pussies. There’s so much…more to them, you know? So much more to love and appreciate. Yours is particularly luscious, of course. It’s no wonder you’re so proud of it. And what colours! Fresh apricot on the outside, and pomegranate red within, and as pretty as a flower to boot. Goodness, you’re wet!”

She paused, awaiting rebuttal (or a snarky comment, at the very least) but Jasper remained quiet, chewing on her finger. Another stripe of fluid chased out of her, down between her buttocks and dripped onto the step. Humiliated though she was, she was enjoying this.

“Lovely,” Pearl murmured, falling to her knees between Jasper’s thighs so she could scoot in closer, “I can appreciate an assymetrical pussy, of course, but I’m afraid my nature leads me to prefer a symmetrical one. And yours is very symmetrical. I always imagined that you would have large inner labia, and I’m pleased to be proven right,”

Jasper’s breathing was purposely slow and calm, but her pupils had engulfed her irises like black holes swallowing stars. As Pearl curled her thumb just between her labia, slick blooming against it and slipping down her wrist like fresh molasses, Jasper lost her battle with control and slammed her head back against the steps with a crack and a groan. Pearl giggled to herself, unperturbed. As Jasper had once headbutted a corrupted gem into a cloud of smoke, Pearl was sure that something so insignificant as a wooden step would not defeat her. She waited until Jasper lifted her head again before thoroughly spreading her apart, thumbs digging into plump lips and the bud of her clit peeking out from beneath its hood. Jasper yelped, looking down at Pearl past the summits of her breasts with something which looked a lot like shock. She was so wet that Pearl struggled for purchase, shimmering with juice and heat, and oh, how it must feel to sink into that warmth; to be enveloped by all that Jasper was, within her sweet molten core. Pearl craned in closer, breathing in musk and sweat and the smoky, woodsy scent of Jasper’s flesh.

“Mmmm, you smell wonderful,” she murmured.

“You often sniff gems’ cunts or something?” Jasper asked, in a valiant attempt at nonchalance. But she was sweaty and flushed, and her need was all too apparent as it trickled out of her before Pearl’s very eyes. 

“Well, I’ve always loved pleasing gems with my mouth,” Pearl laughed, “And when you get so close to a pussy, you’re naturally going to be able to smell it. Rest assured, you smell very nice. Would you mind holding yourself like this for me? Just for a while? I must confess, ever since I saw that footage, I’ve wanted to see you spreading your pussy for me. I’ve thought about it often. We all have those little fantasies we visit when we’re alone, don’t we?”

“Fuck, you’re kinky!” Jasper hissed through her teeth, “And I thought you were just a weepy prude all this time,”

“Now, now,” Pearl chided with a grin of immense enjoyment, “Don’t be rude. Just do as I ask like a good girl and I’ll give you what you want in return,”

Speaking to Jasper like that, in such a soft, saccharine croon, with words more appropriate for a beloved little pet, was an enormous risk on Pearl’s part. Jasper was tempestuous and unpredictable; easily angered and slow to cool, despite the evident intellect lurking behind her perfect brows. If she chose to take insult, she would storm off and stew for days, leaving not only Pearl, but herself unsatisfied and frustrated. A frustrated Jasper was even more grouchy than the norm- a veritable hassle to deal with at the best of times. Unfortunately, if she felt stung by Pearl’s words, she would almost certainly rob herself of satiation if it meant she could rebuff Pearl too, leaving everyone uphappy. She was quite spiteful, in some ways.

Jasper was the very picture of shock. It was an expression which wasn’t far from her face today, and Pearl found it quite a fetching look on her. Wide eyes like those of a bisque doll, colour burning high on her cheekbones, her big flushed lips pouting in surprise…Pearl guiltily hoped she could coax further beauteous expressions out of her.

Jasper considered her carefully for the span of a few seconds, until Pearl was almost sure she had blown this with her naked presumption. Finally, however, Jasper sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and tossed her head to the side, turning her gaze downwards in an alluring gesture of submission. Then, she thrust her hands between her thighs, batting Pearl’s own hands aside, to open herself up for Pearl’s examination between the press of both thumbs. Intentionally or not, her breasts squeezed together pleasingly between her biceps, which only increased the salacious spectacle she made; all spread open like that, a beautiful ripe red and glazed in copious, glistening juices. It was little wonder that Pearl had a nearly overwhelming urge to bury her face there. She had never been interested in food, but she would eat that with limitless enthusiasm.

“Good,” Pearl said, “Good girl. Stay like that for me. Let me look at you for a while,”

Jasper’s shoulders hunched minutely, but she did as she was asked even as her throat rippled with a swallow. She seemed supremely uncomfortable, yet she was under no obligation to stay- and, in any case, the puddle growing beneath her as she leaked abundantly from her spread pussy demonstrated that she was very much enjoying herself.

“You’re beautiful,” Pearl said, smiling wider as she spied the way Jasper’s pussy visibly fluttered in response to her gentle compliments, “You like it when I talk to you, don’t you? Would you like me to tell you the things I’d like you to do for me? Of course you would,”

Jasper was breathing shallowly through her mouth, perspiring and glassy eyed. She didn’t seem to fully register that she was looking at Pearl again.

“Well, we haven’t much time today, I’m afraid,” Pearl continued, stroking Jasper’s flank soothingly, “We’ve chosen quite an unsuitable location and time for this rendezvous, wouldn’t you agree? So today, I’m going to make love to you- but when we have more time…oh, I have so many plans! Would you like to hear some of them? I’ve been putting together a list for a little while,”

Jasper gave a strained little chuckle, her fingers twitching but remaining where Pearl had instructed them to be.

“Of course you have,” she said, with something approaching her usual humour.

“I have,” Pearl nodded, massaging her inner thighs, “It pays to write things down so you don’t forget them. Sometimes, I’ll be dusting the shelves or practicing my swordsmanship, and a flash of inspiration with seize me. So I write it down, in the hopes that, one day, I’ll be able to…work my way down the list,”

“If you want to do kinky stuff, I’m all ears,” Jasper breathed fervently.

“I’m sure you are,” Pearl said, “Although some of the scenarios are quite elaborate. Oh, but let me tell you about my favourite one! You see, I’ve always considered it a great waste that you don’t do something nice with your hair or clothes every so often- not that you don’t look beautiful all the time, of course. I’d just like to dress you up…pamper you, really. I’d like to take care of you. I like doing that sort of thing, you know. I used to brush Rose’s hair for her, and dress her up in pretty clothes. I didn’t have to, but I liked to do it,”

“You want to put me in frilly dresses and pigtails?” Jasper asked in a tone which suggested she wasn’t entirely against the idea, despite her facetious words.

“Nothing so ugly as that!” Pearl said, “No, you know that I favour elegance; beauty and grace. I would never let you look so tacky. No, I’m thinking…a lovely lemon sundress and a straw beach hat with a ribbon around the brim. And stockings, of course. Soft, sheer stockings in pure white, held up by a garter belt beneath the dress. Oh, but no panties,”

“Fuck!” Jasper intoned quietly. Her skin was near burning under Pearl’s hands, like metal beneath a blowtorch. Her fingers were slipping in her own need as it trickled out of her, but she was mindful of her orders and kept as still as possible, her eyes fixated on Pearl. The ruddy hue of her cheeks and skittish disposition suggested that she remained thoroughly humiliated by this whole experience, yet her excitement only seemed to climb as every word Pearl spoke caressed her between the legs and worked her over into a piping hot mess. Pearl hadn’t had this much fun since before Rose died.

“I’d like to take you out,” she said, nuzzling her nose into Jasper’s thigh as the flesh goosed up against it, “You know, show you around town, meet the locals- that kind of thing. But really, I’ll just be showing you off, because I want everyone to see how pretty you are in your little dress and stockings- oh, and peep-toe heels! You don’t need the height, of course, but…well, it needs to be a complete outfit! They should be yellow, like your dress. And the dress will be quite short, naturally- cut only a few inches down your thigh, so everyone can see your spectacular legs. Which will be quite dangerous for you, since you don’t want to get caught walking around town with no panties on, but I’m sure you’ll manage,”

“What if it’s windy out?” Jasper challenged breathlessly. Contrary to her words, she sounded as though she was relishing the thought of her dress flying up in a sudden gust, giving the denizens of Beach City a chance to gawp at her full, shapely rear and nude pussy. It made sense that she would be an exhibitionist, considering her general conceitedness. One day, perhaps, Pearl would have to look into arranging a nice little scene featuring spectators. She could think of several gems who would be very interested in seeing Jasper on her knees and begging to be touched.

“Well,” Pearl smiled, “You’ll just have to make sure nobody sees anything, won’t you? And then, at the end of the day, I’ll take you to the beach to watch the sunset, because it reminds me of you. I’ll lay down towels- we wouldn’t want you to ruin your pretty dress now, would we?- and then we’ll sit together until it’s dark. Darkness is necessary for the next part, if we want to avoid getting caught. You can let go now,”

Jasper was so utterly captivated by Pearl’s salacious little story that she didn’t immediately seem to understand what she was being told to do. It was only when Pearl nodded pointedly towards her hands that she appeared to get the picture and snatched them away from her crotch. One fell loosely on her thigh, painting shiny streaks on her flesh. The other gripped the side of the stairs near her hip, and smeared a handprint there along the oak. That would have to be cleaned before anyone returned to the house, lest awkward revelations come to light.

“Once it’s fully dark, nobody will be able to see us,” Pearl sighed, rubbing her nose into the chub at the top of Jasper’s inner thigh, perilously close to her folds. Free from Jasper’s touch, they had closed up like a flower, wet red petals splayed against her thick flesh like a tulip on a pillow. 

“And then what will we do?” Jasper asked hoarsely, thighs twitching.

“Then,” Pearl said slowly, “Then, I’ll tell you to lift your dress for me, to show me how wet you are. By this time, we will have been out all day, showing you off to all of the humans while you hide how bare you are underneath your pretty dress. Oh, but you’re so difficult to resist, so I haven’t strictly kept my hands to myself all day. There have been times when I’ve been unable to help myself, and I’ve just had to pinch your bottom or run my fingers over your pussy- maybe playing with your clitoris a little, if I’m feeling cruel. Suffice it to say, you’ll be very wet by this time, and you’ll be desperate for me to touch you,”

“Please,” Jasper whispered with a full-bodied shiver. She didn’t appear to realise she’d said anything at all. Pearl noticed, however, that her grip on the staircase was becoming a little alarming.

“But I won’t,” Pearl said, pausing to kiss her thigh just the once, “I’ve decided that I’d like to watch you touch yourself for me- and you’ll do it, because you want to please me, don’t you? Because you’re a good soldier following orders…a good girl. My good girl. You’ll lie back on the towels with all of your pretty clothes on and your hair all neat beneath your hat, and you’ll play with your pussy for me. I’m sure you’ll look sublime. In fact, I think I’d like you to show me right now,”

For a gem who had proven so bold and unashamedly promiscuous, it was remarkable how bashful she seemed in the face of Pearl’s comparatively tame instructions. But perhaps that was the root of it- that Pearl was talking to her in a way she had never been spoken to before, as though she were something cherished and pretty, to be treated gently and kindly. She was used to vulgarity and quick-and-dirty sex in barracks, corridors, behind weapons stores. She wasn’t used to slow, careful touches; she wasn’t used to being taken care of. Pearl had introduced her to a new way of having sex, and Jasper had found that she liked it, to her embarrassment. Big tough quartzes didn’t want wisp-thin pearls to bring them to heel and dress them up in lace and tell them how sweet they looked. Big tough quartzes were not supposed to likes these things. 

Well, if nothing else, at least Jasper appeared to have a taste for light humiliation. Every word Pearl murmured at her had made her blush, but it had made her drip too. She was thoroughly wet, and as Pearl watched, she brought her dominant hand towards her pussy and gingerly traced her middle finger up her centre. Her uncertain movements stood in bold contrast with the way she had blatantly rubbed herself through her pants scarce minutes ago, baiting Pearl into reacting.

“Good,” Pearl said, “Yes, like that. Show me how you like to be touched,”

As she had been kneeling on the hard wooden stairs for so long, her knees were starting to ache, but she was not about to move away and deprive herself of this treat. She had settled less than a foot away from Jasper’s pussy, in the splay of her thighs on the steps just below her. The scent of her was heavy in Pearl’s nose, so strong she could almost fancy she could taste it.

Jasper was far more tentative than Pearl would have guessed, as though her attentive audience had robbed her of all memory of her own preferences. She almost seemed to be rediscovering her body beneath Pearl’s avid scrutiny; or perhaps she was concerning herself with what Pearl would find alluring, rather than what she liked. It was extraordinary how invested she was already becoming in pleasing Pearl in anticipation of praise and reward.

Jasper’s fingers were as large as the rest of her. A single digit would have been more than enough to fill Pearl, but Pearl recalled Jasper’s graphic descriptions of her own dimensions, and knew that it would take rather more than that to satisfy her. The quartzes in the footage had had cocks thicker than Pearl’s entire arm, and Jasper had taken them so easily (both holes stuffed full, Pearl recalled, with a swirl of jealousy and excitement) that it seemed unlikely any fewer than three of her enormous fingers would be enough.

For now, she seemed content to delicately tease herself, roving the pads of her fingers over her swollen lips in long ellipses and curlicues, mindful of her claws. Her restraint seemed to be for her audience’s sake as much as her own; intended to tantalise Pearl with the maddening, slow pace and animate her into reaction. It was working.

She shifted a little, sliding further down the step so that her backside hung even more precariously over the edge. Her movements were restricted by the wall to her right, so she was forced to rest her heel on the stairs below and bend her knee in the middle; but her other leg was thrown wide, dangling straight over the side. She was in real danger of slipping, but as her new position had given her better access her to pussy, she didn’t seem inclined to care. Her arousal had clearly reached a crescendo. The step below her was flooded, her buttocks soaked, her thighs shivering as she nibbled the fingers on her free hand; her nipples stiff and her clitoris enormously enflamed. Pearl experienced the sudden frantic urge to suck on it; and so she did, dodging Jasper’s hand to draw it into her mouth. Jasper let out a sound which might have been called a wail if quartzes were capable of making such noises, then hurriedly stuffed four of her fingers into her mouth to smother the unexpected peal. 

“Mm,” Pearl murmured, primly sitting back on her haunches, “You’re certainly much more than a mouthful. You’re making quite the mess,”

“Sorry,” Jasper mumbled past her fingertips. Pearl wiped her chin on the back of her hand and smiled, touched by Jasper’s sincerity. 

“Don’t be silly,” Pearl said, “It’s not your fault. Besides, you make for quite an attractive picture, particularly when you’re enjoying yourself. I notice you’re trying to stay quite…by putting your fingers into your mouth? I’m surprised you could fit so many in there. I wonder...,”

She tapped her finger on her chin, lips pursed and brow furrowed in mock-thought. Jasper’s muscles strained as if held by invisible fetters.

“Be a good girl and show me how many you can fit into your pussy,” Pearl said.

It was a spur-of-the-moment order, but the thought had been clinking around the back of Pearl’s consciousness like spare change since she had first seen that footage. Nonetheless, she briefly reconsidered this idea when Jasper fixed her with a truly astonished look. The silence stretched, and Pearl’s nerves stretched with it. Had she said something inordinately strange? Had she turned Jasper off? A feeling like the brush off cold fingers slipped down her spine as insecurity penned her back into its grasp. She swallowed, the taste of Jasper still thick on her tongue.

“Have you always been this kinky, or did it only start when you came to Earth?” Jasper rasped eventually. Pearl breathed, steadied herself, and offered a tremulous grin.

“Who knows?” she said, “You don’t have to, of course. But…well, it would make me happy if you did. So please…,”

A part of Pearl belatedly questioned whether Jasper might injure herself with those talons of hers, but Jasper seemed to know what she was doing. The first finger went into her in a slow, luxuriant slide, right down to the last knuckle. She hissed quietly and rotated her palm, grinding it into her aching clitoris. Her hips jerked minutely. Another digit gave her no more trouble than the first, and as she tucked it into her alongside her forefinger, crooking them into her fluid heat, she dribbled copiously around the stretch. It snuck down her perineum and pattered onto the step below, feeding the growing mess she was leaving in her wake. Pearl recalled juicing summer fruits with Steven the previous Saturday (firm golden apricots, ripe-to-bursting peaches, pineapples, and sweet mangos), and almost imagined that she felt true thirst for the first time in her entire existence. She palmed her tender cock through her pants, and crashed into Jasper’s bush-fire gaze with her own.

A third would be Jasper’s limit, Pearl decided to herself. Those fingers were exorbitantly thick, and surmounted by nails which were very pretty, but assuredly hazardous to genitalia if you weren’t careful. She ought to have known not to underestimate Jasper. 

The ring finger squeezed in, stretching Jasper’s perineum like red silk canvas- but then, to Pearl’s astonishment (and against any advice she might have offered) Jasper grunted with effort and began to work in her smallest finger. It was a struggle which drew her body up taut and picked out the tendons in her wrists like the sculptor’s chisel, but finally, it popped inside; and she looked to Pearl with a shy little smile, stuffed full of her own fingers, in expectation of praise.

“My goodness,” Pearl laughed breathlessly, almost too aroused for words, “I must say, that is impressive. Good. Very good,”

“I’ve never tried this before,” Jasper disclosed with effort, massaging the knuckle of her thumb into her clitoris, “Oh!”

“Yes, but it’s not what you want, is it?” Pearl asked, instantly snatching Jasper’s straying attention for herself, “Tell me what you want, beautiful, and I’ll give it to you,”

In truth, Pearl was as desperate as Jasper undoubtedly was. She felt as shivery and fluttery and blindsided as a bat trapped in a bag; her pulse elevated, her belly boiling with desire, her face vividly blue. Nonetheless, it seemed advisable that she offer some pretence of control, because Jasper was counting on her to act the part at the very least. So she continued to purr pretty words, as though she wasn’t fit to bursting out of her shorts, and wasn’t assailed with the very reasonable worry that she might come the moment she pushed into the fiery embrace of Jasper’s body.

“Well?” she prompted, and Jasper’s eyes closed in a spray of dark lashes against her ruddy cheeks.

“Fuck me,” she said.

“Ask nicely,” Pearl chided her, tweaking a nipple in remonstration. Jasper’s hips stuttered into her hand with a lewd wet noise.

“Please fuck me?” she gasped. That wasn’t exactly what Pearl would have referred to as “nicely” (in fact, it was quite rude, entreaties notwithstanding), but she was at the end of her tether and not apt to be too picky. In any case, the others would be back shortly. She had to be mindful of the time. Edging play would have to take place at a later date, when they had more time and less chance of getting caught in the act, and Pearl could properly prepare in advance. Jasper would have to be dressed and readied of course, with her mane all combed out and her clothes chosen for her; pretty hair and outfits, so embarrassing for her to be seen in…but that was half of the fun, wasn’t it? She liked the little taste of humiliation which came with falling to her knees and nudging her head against Pearl’s hand like a housecat begging for attention. Who was Pearl to deny her what she so craved, especially when she made such a charming picture?   
more. But in the future, I’d like to edge you and deny you. Make you beg. I’m sure you’ll sound so pretty. And you’ll look pretty too, because I think I’d like to dress you up a lot in the future, if you’re alright with that. You would look spectacular in a floaty, powder pink baby doll, I think. Something a little sheer, so I can see your nipples through it. Oh, and crotchless panties too. Imagine it! You won’t even need to disrobe, although I’m sure the panties would be an unfortunate casualty of the day,”

“Please,” Jasper whispered again, drawing her hand out from within herself with a thick wet noise. Her pussy closed up again in its wake, like a flower hiding from the moon, and Pearl couldn’t help but chase its hidden depths with her own fingers. Jasper was scorching inside, and soaking, and so soft and delicate that Pearl’s head spun as she curled two digits within.

“Oooh, OK,” she breathed, “OK. I’ll give you this, since you’ve been so patient,”

She slipped free of the alluring grasp of Jasper’s body to struggle with her shorts, dampening them along one side with her wet fingers. She hardly paid it any mind. Finally, she managed to pull free, dropping her shorts over the side of the stairs to be collected afterwards. It was a little ill-advised, perhaps (considering the very real danger that she would have to dress quickly if they were interrupted) but she wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. Her entire focus had narrowed to her aching cock, and the blazing paradise between Jasper’s thighs.

“Come on, come one, come one…,” Jasper was chanting urgently, burying her dripping fingers in the staircase, “Oh fuck, that is a damn nice dick,”

“Thank you,” Pearl said, fisting its turgid shaft, “Did you think I hadn’t perfected the art of satisfying a quartz after thousands of years as Rose’s lover?”

“Point,” Jasper hissed, “Oohh, fuck. I’m going to need to suck that one day,”

“I’m sure I can accommodate you,” Pearl laughed as she shuffled into the gap between Jasper’s legs. It would be a tricky position, but they had the tenacity and urgency necessary to pull this off. Pearl would have to stand two steps below Jasper’s hips, bracing herself on those enormous thighs; and, providing she didn’t slip in Jasper’s abundant juices, she would be reasonably safe. She didn’t think she would have been able to stand it if she was killed mid-coitus and had to regenerate to a soundtrack of Amethyst’s laughter.

“If somebody walks in now-,” she warned.

“They’re going to get an eyeful of your little white ass,” Jasper finished with typical tact. Pearl decided to let it slide, drawing her thumb across the flushed blue head of her cock to spread around the fluid welling up there as she positioned it just shy of its destination. Jasper jolted forwards impatiently, enveloping the crown in her petal-soft folds without taking it inside her; but even this was so hot and wet, that Pearl felt herself tremble like a fever patient, digging her fingers into Jasper’s thighs as she split her lip between her teeth.

“Here,” Jasper said, with a rumble of something like her usual cockiness. She reached between her legs to take Pearl in hand, steering her into place; and then the head popped inside, and Pearl’s vision whited out for a moment. It had been over fourteen years since she had last done this, and she had almost forgotten how agonisingly perfect it felt. Jasper’s pussy hugged her length in its velvet embrace; as hot as the tropics and wet as a storm, and lightly quivering around her as she inched her way to the root. 

“Fuck!” Jasper groaned, slamming her head into the stairs again as Pearl bottomed out, “Fuck, that’s good,”

Pearl could only nod against Jasper’s belly, smearing her sweaty face there as she panted, open-mouthed, and tried not to spend herself too soon. This was a feat made more difficult by Jasper’s refusal to keep still. She squirmed beneath Pearl like a serpent, grunting and whining, and twisting and rolling her hips as though she thought Pearl had yet more to give and wanted it immediately. Pearl drew her face out of Jasper’s belly- and if she hadn’t melted the moment she was coaxed into the libidinous clench of Jasper’s pussy, she would have melted upon seeing the pitiful desperation imprinted on Jasper’s face.

“Shh, shh,” Pearl soothed, in spite of her own abject need, “Alright, I’ll give it to you now. Good. Good soldier. Good girl,”

True to her words, she began to rock into Jasper in long strokes; slowly at first, and gingerly lest she spill too soon. But she needed this, and Jasper needed this, and like a starving man before a feast, who knew the price of overindulgence in his sorry state but was bound to gorge himself anyway…Pearl just couldn’t help herself. Her slow, steady pace was overtaken by a frenzy; a cacophony of flesh-on-flesh, and the lurid squelch of Jasper’s drenched pussy as each frantic plunge of Pearl’s cock drove rivulets out of her like juice squeezed from a lemon. Pearl’s breath sounded in her own ears as the sweat dripped from her nose and her hands scrabbled for purchase on Jasper’s damp thighs; but above it all, she could hear Jasper’s gasps and groans of pleasure, and she could see that beautiful, slack face and those big hands palming Jasper’s breasts, and she knew that she was responsible for bringing a mighty quartz down from her perch to play at being Pearl’s blushing girl. 

It was little wonder that Jasper had attracted so many lovers in the past when she felt so paradisiac around a cock. Her pussy was fire made liquid and silk, quaking and clenching involuntarily as Pearl fucked her, fast and filthy on a staircase in the middle of the house, where anyone could walk in and catch them in the act. The thrill that caused Pearl could not be denied. Her orgasm was coiling up like a spring in her belly, reading to snap loose at any moment. She hoped that Jasper would forgive her lack of stamina, since it really had been over fourteen years since Pearl had last done this, and it was inevitable that she would come earlier than either of them would have liked. 

An apology worked its way to the back of her throat, ready to spill out should she come before Jasper and disappoint them both. Yet, unexpectedly, this turned out to be unnecessary. An abrupt wail ripped its way free of Jasper’s throat, so loud that, for an instant, Pearl feared that it would be heard and somebody would come to investigate the kerfuffle. Then the instant passed, as Pearl was seized in the blazing flutter of Jasper’s kegal muscles, and the clench of thighs like a squeezing vice around her hips, crushing the breath out of her as she dizzied towards her own end. Jasper jack-knifed her upper half off the stairs so violently that she nearly headbutted Pearl, clenching her fingers into the staircase until the wood burst with a sound like a shotgun beneath her fingertips; curling up as though in pain, her eyes rolled back behind her closed lids and her jaw hanging in utter rapture as she sprayed around Pearl’s cock in long bursts. It was explosive and beautiful and awe-inspiring, and Pearl only wished she could appreciate it more without suffering the distraction which came of attempting to fend off her own burgeoning orgasm. Oh, it would have been only too easy to pour herself into Jasper’s warmth, filling her up until it oozed out of her, white on red- but she didn’t want to come if she couldn’t look into Jasper’s face and map her expression as she felt it happen. Thus, Pearl’s resistance. 

By the time Jasper had settled back down, the front of Pearl’s shirt was soaked through. She shook with tension as her finger carved into the thighs bracketing her hips, but she still hastened to mumble praise while Jasper twitched through the aftershocks.

“V-Very good,” Pearl moaned, “Oh, you feel incredible!”

Jasper gifted her with a drunken, beatific smile and slumped, lax-limbed, against the staircase as though it were made of pillows rather than wood. Pearl’s hips were released, although she could already feel them bruising. That was probably an occupational hazard of getting between those thighs. Pearl didn’t regret doing so at all.

“I’d like to come inside you,” she told Jasper, breathing heavily, “If that’s alright. Oh, please say yes. You’d look so nice with it all dripping out of you,”

“Yellow Diamond’s saggy ass, you’re kinky,” Jasper swore, “Yeah, do it. Wow, I can’t say no to that,”

“I’m going to overlook whatever that was,” Pearl rolled her eyes, “Since you’ve been well-behaved so far,”

“Mmm…and I don’t do that often,” Jasper sighed, deliberately clenching around the length still plunged within her. Pearl rocked into with a jerky, involuntary thrust, frowning at Jasper. 

“Stay still,” she chided, “You’ve had your fun. Be good and let me have mine,”

Now that Jasper had orgasmed, Pearl half-expected her tractability to vanish, in favour of a much more antagonistic countenance. She was therefore pleasantly surprised when Jasper quietened with a nod, staring down between her legs as Pearl began to lunge into her frenetically, gathering up the sparks of her desire and coaxing them into flame. Before long, it erupted behind Pearl’s eyes, chasing down her spine like a forest fire. She keened as she spurted into Jasper’s slick heat, biting her lip and raking her nails over Jasper’s thighs- yet still, she kept her eyes fixed on Jasper’s face, shivering hotly as Jasper’s lips pursed into a soundless “oh” when she felt it squirt inside her. On a whim, Pearl withdrew immediately and dropped to her knees, parting Jasper’s pussy her fingers. She was shaking.

“I want to see it,” she said, almost begging, “Can you-?”

Luckily, Jasper understood. Her belly flexed as she pushed down, and Pearl could only murmur happily as white seeped from between Jasper’s puffy lips and speckled into the puddle of slick beneath her.

“Please,” Jasper said once again; and she begged so sweetly that Pearl could hardly refuse. This time, she brought Jasper off with her mouth, sucking Jasper’s clit, lapping up her own come and chasing it into inside as her nose pressed backwards painfully and Jasper groaned above her. She managed to get out of the way well enough that she avoided a face-full of ejaculate when Jasper came again, but the resultant spray across the stairs and floor widened the area they would have to clean before the others returned. It was inconvenient, that was true; but as Jasper looked to her with another sated grin, she reminded herself that she had always enjoyed cleaning, anyway.

As much as Pearl would have liked nothing more than to lie with Jasper, basking in their post-coital glow, she knew they couldn’t spare more than a minute’s reprieve before they would have to dress and mop the floors. Even then, it was a close thing. Just as they were finishing up, Steven came barrelling in, followed by Amethyst, Peridot, and Lapis- and Garnet, whose knowing gaze was as heavy as lead, but who kept her remarks to herself as she watched the other gems bunch together around the fridge, fighting over cake.

“Someone’s going to have to fix those stairs,” was her only comment. Pearl was so relieved that she volunteered far too eagerly, even for a gem who generally relished chores. Still, she counted it as a small victory that the only casualty of the day was a broken step.

“Hey, Pearl,” Jasper said with suspicious nonchalance, inspecting her nails as she watched Pearl squeeze out the mop, “Is there a market for slutty ballerina costumes?”

Mentally, Pearl amended her list of casualties to a single step, and a mop handle.


End file.
